Fr Eugene Lobo, SJ –
Tenth Sunday of the Year June 09, 2024
Genesis 3:9–15; 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1; Mark 3:20–35
God speaks to us in many ways, particularly through the Word of God. This Word is very active in our life and helps us to grow in our closeness to God. On this tenth Sunday of ordinary time, the Church reminds us that as humans, we all have an existential struggle against evil. However, the good news is that, we are illuminated through the assurance of victory. It is Christ, the seed of the Woman (Mary) who helps us to obtain this victory in our daily and earthly struggle against evil. In the Gospel reading, Jesus redefines the concept of family, stating that those who do the will of God are His brothers and sisters.
This theme emphasizes the importance of spiritual kinship and unity among believers in Christ. We are presented with the episode of Jesus’ encounter with his people and family. They thought he was out of his mind. They accused him of being possessed when he was actually liberating the possessed. They were ready to restrain him with false charges. They wished to tame his miraculous works and powerful preaching. In spite of all these, he remained focused on his mission.
The first reading is from the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. It is an integral part of our salvific history which reminds us of something that we inherited from them. That is, the Adamic nature due to Original Sin. Also, it reminds us of the consequences disobedience. Rather than accept their fault, they tried to justify themselves by blaming each other. Adam blamed: “the woman you (God) gave me.” Of course, he did not blame the woman alone, he also indirectly blamed God who generously and kindly gave him a partner. On the other hand, Eve blamed: “the serpent that tempted me.” Blame rained upon blame!
As some of us do, it was hard to accept their fault. None of them said, I am sorry, I was wrong, it was my fault or even, please forgive me. Instead, they found excuses to exonerate themselves and, someone else must take the blame. Excuses does not absolve faults. Rather, what helps is humbly accepting one’s fault and asking for forgiveness.
In the second reading, Paul simply brings to light the significant characteristics of a life lived in faith. With the words of the psalmist he testifies: “We also believe and therefore we speak (Ps 116:10), knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us. Yes, this is a great profession of faith. Through this, Paul reminds us that preaching (speaking) the gospel is possible only because of faith. He also reminds us that in spite of our difficulties and existential struggles against evil in our world, grace strengthens our faith. Grace and faith keep us steadfast and focused on the glory of the eternal life ahead.
Today’s Gospel narrates Jesus’ encounter with his people and family. They thought he was out of his mind. They accused him of being possessed when he was actually liberating the possessed. They were ready to restrain him with false charges. They wished and desired to restrain his miraculous works and powerful preaching regarding his Father. In spite of all these, Jesus did not sacrifice his mission. He was so different from other prophets. He was completely caught up in doing the work of his Father and pays no attention to anything else. This looked like insanity to any of his contemporary people. Jesus perhaps was not having enough to eat, not getting enough sleep and had already sacrificed his steady occupation. He seemed obsessed with healing people. All in all, his family decides that Jesus was out of his mind.
He told them and explained to them that every true disciple of Christ is, his brother, sister, mother and a member of his victorious family. He came to save all who are ready to do the will of God. Of course, Mary his Mother is a great model of this for all of us. Hence, Christ did not disrespect his own faithful mother. She faithfully heard the Word of God and retained it in her life. Our Lord teaches an important lesson today. That, through faith and obedience to God’s will, we all have the opportunity to become members of his victorious and happy family.
Today Christ reminds us that it is not status, but action in response to God’s call that determines who belongs to his victorious family. To become part of the victorious family of Christ is a dynamic process. It flows from a personal encounter with Christ. It also flows from faithfulness and obedience to God’s will. Hence, if we are Disciples of Christ, we must prove it through our faith and obedience to God’s will. Jesus emphasizes that those who believe in him and all that he stands for are as close to him in particular as those who do the will of God as brother and sister and mother of Jesus’ family.
In today’s Gospel Jesus is the victim of calumny by his opponents. The scribes say that Jesus has made a pact with the devil and that it’s by the devils power that he casts out demons. Some members of his family believe at least part of this and conclude that Jesus must be crazy — especially with all his talk earlier about loving enemies, saying outrageous things, like the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.
There is plenty of calumny and spoiling the reputation of people going on in our world today. Everywhere we see people, nations and institutions that seek to promote themselves unfairly at someone else’s expense. We have become so used to being manipulated by fake news and outrageous distortions that we now have a hard time recognizing the truth when we hear it, especially when that truth is difficult and requires a change in our behaviour and attitudes. Our Church teaches us to respect for the reputation of other persons and this respect forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. The Catechism states a person becomes guilty of calumny, who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.
They throw calumny at Jesus. The Lord defends himself by asking quite logically: “How can Satan cast out Satan?” “A household divided against itself cannot stand.” The scribes think he is possessed by the devil. Jesus points out to them the absurdity of their thinking that he uses the devil to cast out demons. In fact, it is Jesus who ties up the strong man, Beelzebub, and overcomes him. Blinded as they were by this deep-rooted pride, they could see nothing good in him. Absurdly, they explained as the work of Satan the miracles he worked. To any honest mind, these miracles proved that he was, at least, a friend of God. That most of the Scribes and Pharisees continued in their blind pride even after their attempt to silence him forever had failed, is most likely, as Jesus’ reference to the unforgivable sin would indicate. They could not be forgiven while they refused, through pride, to ask for forgiveness.
He concludes with a brief saying about the forgiveness of sins. All sin can be forgiven except for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It’s not known exactly what he means by this. It could be that the only sin that can’t be forgiven is the one that cuts you off from the source of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit. This form of sin cannot be forgiven. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sin against the Holy Spirit is the “deliberate refusal” to accept God’s mercy and forgiveness (no. 1864) and therefore cannot be forgiven. Six species of this sin have been identified over time as sins against the Holy Spirit such as: (1) Despair; (2) Presumption; (3) Impenitence or a firm determination not to repent; (4) Obstinacy; (5) Resisting divine truth known to be such; and (6) Envy of another’s spiritual welfare.
But how can we reconcile these words of Jesus: “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of everlasting sin.” With our reliance on the Father’s infinite love and mercy for our salvation, such that, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
Saint John Paul II speaks on the Scriptural prohibition of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. He said: “According to such an exegesis, ‘blasphemy’ does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross”. Thus, while it is usually defined as speaking against God, in this case blasphemy is “the refusal to accept salvation.”
For us, all of this is a call to follow the Lord, not matter what our families or other religious people think about us. We are challenged to do the works of God, to recognize that the fight between good and evil is still going on in our own time. We must also recognise that it is God who is at work and so we can trust that we are being remade in the image of God.
There is an inspiring story narrated by Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She found a little girl in the street. She took her in their children’s home. There was always good food, nice clothes, and comfortable room for her. After a few hours, the girl ran away. Saint Mother Teresa looked for her. But she could not find her. After some days, the saint found her again in the street and brought her again in the children’s home. Saint Mother Teresa asked her sisters to follow the little girl wherever she went. The little girl ran away again. But the sisters followed her and learned where she was going and why she kept running away. The sisters discovered that the little girl’s mother was living under a tree on a city street. There were three stones and the mother did her cooking there. Mother Teresa went and witnessed the joy of the little girl with her mother. She asked the little girl, “Why did you not want to stay with us? You had so many beautiful things at the children’s home.” The little girl politely replied, “I could not live without my mother. She loves me.”